I should have known he'd be back. I watch enough TV to know that no one's really dead. either it was fake or there's a way to bring them back or some other way but they're almost never really dead. but it was still unexpected. bravo.

_________________I'm a shape-shifter. I'm currently in whatever form I feel likeParadigm Shift by meI do not actually believe any of what I'm saying.RP character sheets

---------- Chapter 15Later that NightNear the Coordinates Mentioned Before

For a compound of such profound importance as being the main headquarters for a shadow organization such as Fenice Nera, it was surprisingly lightly guarded which just put the trio of comrades on edge as they made their way toward the area. Must rely on keeping their groups small and secret as well as their fortress, Light figured as he looked through the binoculars at the main structure. It was hidden inside a mountain with several access points away from a non-existent road.

“They must maintain it very well if they get their supplies without tire treads or tracks leading to that hanger door,” Cameron pointed out as they made their way to the east side of the compound which didn’t even look like it existed when viewed from above. No man-made structures were visible at all; the three of them were sure about it.

“No wonder no one found it,” Keith added. It was near the middle of the night and despite the enemy looking for them and night being the most predictable time for them to try to infiltrate the base; they had to go for it while they might still be able to catch them off guard. They wouldn’t expect them to be trying to sneak in this soon after a run-in with them. There was also the obvious problem of the more skilled fighting forces to be inside the base. “Remember to avoid confrontation at all cost,” the ex-marine reminded Light and Cameron as he attached a silencer to his sniper rifle and double checked his ammunition and gear. He handed Light and Cameron some sneaking suits that would muffle the noises of their claws on the ground and the friction of their fur and limbs against one another. “These should protect you from thermal imaging as well,” he warned them. “Unfortunately there’s nothing we can do about Infrared lights and cameras so just keep an eye out. “Cameron, how’s your vision in low light?” he asked the cheetah as she finished putting on the suit. The special fabric hugged her feline body tightly and showed off her form.

Light raised an eyebrow as he looked the cheetah up and down and started blushing a little as he looked away. He cleared his throat and slipped into his suit as well, hoping Cameron hadn’t spotted him staring.

If the cheetah did see him staring at her, she didn’t act like it as she replied to Keith’s question. “It’s very good, Sir.”

“Alright, you’ll take point with Light right there with you and using his nose, I’ll provide cover a few yards behind and set up in positions where I can watch your back while you plant C-4 and remain out of sight,” he commanded while the group continued walking toward one of the doors on the far side of the complex. Using Cameron’s eyes and Light’s nose as well as Keith’s IR goggles they made their way to the door while avoiding the carefully hidden cameras and traps.

The two men guards with German Shepherds beside them guarded a door that the group was looking at. Suddenly the two men slumped onto the ground simultaneously. The dogs looked at each other and as they reached for the radios on their humans’ belts they too fell to the ground unconscious. The three figures emerged from their hiding spot a hundred yards away and sprinted toward the door.

Light got out his lock-picking tools and opened the door after Keith had disabled the security temporarily. He used a terminal that he had hooked up his hand-held computer to. “Go time,” he said under his breath as he opened the door and rushed Light and Cameron inside, carefully and stealthily closing it behind him.

After travelling down several hallways, the ex-marine was finally starting to get an idea as to the scale of the interior of this base. “Let’s get this over with,” Keith replied and grinned as he took half the C-4 from Cameron’s pack and hid some on what appeared to be a load-bearing steal column that was partially hidden by the mountain. “Look for load bearing structures to put C-4 on as we go,” he instructed as he set up a remote detonator into the plastic explosive.

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Temno coughed and stirred as his eyes fluttered open and his vision started to become less blurred. It was dark out since the sun had slipped behind the horizon hours ago. S***…that hurt, he said to himself as he slowly started to move each of his limbs to see if they were broken. “Ow ow ow…” he whispered as he tried moving his toes on his left footpaw and eventually the left arm. When he was done he made a self diagnosis. Fractured Tibia on left arm, dis- “Mrf…” he made out as he started panting a little from the pain. dislocated right shoulder…should be able to fix that he murmured as he gritted his teeth and scooted slowly over to a rock laying nearby until his shoulder was beside it and yelped loudly in pain as he slammed his shoulder into it, pushing the ball-joint back into place. He was panting more heavily now as he looked down at his footpaw. A of his toes were bent in an awkward position. “broken,” he said with a sigh as he checked over. He could move his right arm again having put the joint back in place. He felt over his ribs carefully and winced as he pressed on the lower two on his left side. “Bruised or cracked…could be worse,” he said under his breath as he lay there. His fur was wet and he was cold but the rain had stopped. He looked up into the clouds and chuckled a bit, stopping as the pain on his rib caused him to wince. “Mrf…Now what?” he asked himself as he thought about what he should do.

“Light…” he said as he looked up to the cliff where he had fallen from. The moonlight helped him see in the dark of night. “….d*** that was a lot of tumbling” he noted as he got up and searched for supplies to fix himself up.

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It had been about a half hour and the three infiltrators, two of which were covered in fur, had avoided cameras at every turn but they felt like they hadn’t explored half the complex yet. Light was impressed that Cameron was able to keep up with them. “Ninja kitty,” he whispered to himself under his breath as he applied another C-4 to a support column. They’d used more than half the C-4. Do we have enough? Light thought to himself. He was as prepared as he could have been but they weren’t expecting the base location to be this large. They didn’t seem to be swarmed with guards either; a fact that hadn’t gone unnoticed by the exmarine or wolf. Although Keith wasn’t showing it, Light had known him long enough to know. He must be keeping his cool for Cameron. Light reasoned as he looked at the cheetah. She sure could use it.

Cameron was keeping their rear covered. Walking backwards with her rifle pointed in the opposite direction they were moving. The fur on the back of her neck was standing up and Light could feel her tension.

Keith stopped and looked down at Light with a worried expression. Light knew that look. The man and wolf were remarkably almost always on the same wavelength when it came to their mannerisms. They could read each other. Light nodded in understanding. It’s got to be a trap…there’s no way we could have gotten in this far without being noticed. Light’s fur raised on his arm as they walked down a hallway. He stopped and held up a fist. “Wait,” he said as he looked to the wall and ran a paw along a separation in it.

Cameron stopped as she heard Light’s footpaw steps halt. “What is it?” she asked in a whisper while still looking down the scope of her rifle at the end of the hallway they’d just come from.

“Thought so,” he said with a grin as he nodded toward it while looking at Keith. Keith gave a smirk. “They’ve closed off passages…they’re leading us somewhere,” he said as he caught onto what Light was trying to tell them.

Cameron wasn’t wavering as she maintained her pose. “What now?” she asked, still aiming her rifle.

“We continue,” Keith said with a grin. Light nodded in agreement and they continued on. It wasn’t long before they managed to come to the end of the passage. There was only one door they could go through. Keith took one side of the doorway and Light and Cameron took the other, the wolf closer to the opening of the door and the cheetah behind him.

“Keep watching our backs, Cam,” the white wolf said without looking at her.

Light and Keith opened the door and Keith maintained cover while sweeping the room a small handheld thermal camera that he held out around the corner. Several individuals showed up on the screen. Keith quickly showed Light the footage he’d been shooting and Light slipped into the room, Keith behind him. Cameron stayed behind and quickly looked over her shoulder and followed as well. Keith signaled with his hands to go silent, prompting the cheetah to put a silencer on her rifle.

Suddenly the door closed behind them and the lights shut off. Floodlights shown a blinding light from several locations in the room at the entrance. The telltale sound of firearms brought to shoulders and the safeties being set to fire echoed in the room as dozens of armed animals brought their guns to aim at the intruders. Laser dot sights coated the crates behind which the three individuals were taking cover. “Yep, it was a trap,” Cameron whispered through bared teeth to the white wolf beside her.

As if on cue, the sound of clapping hands…distinctly different from that of paws clapping could be heard from the far side of the room. It would be unlikely that they would be able to even peek out from their hiding place without taking a bullet from the large number of firearms pointed at their location…they knew this.

“Well done,” the voice of the mysterious man said from behind the blinding lights.

Look like we found the ringleader, Keith thought to himself with a grin. Even though they were pinned down, the fact that he’d presented himself meant he was being overconfident. The man used a mirror from his hiding spot and caught a glimpse of the silhouette before the mirror was shattered from a bullet. “They have better aim than the lackeys from before,” he whispered under his breath while readying his weapon.

“Well done for leading them here, Temno” he mysterious man said as he pet the black-furred wolf beside him.

Light’s eyes widened and he peaked over the box briefly to see a silhouette of a black wolf that he knew could only be his brother…except he looked like he had a bandaged arm. “That son-of-a-“ he growled as he realized Cameron was shivered beside him.

The cheetah was clutching the gun to her chest and breathing deeply, trying not to shake. She felt like a mouse trapped in the corner against a wild-hungry cat. She gasped and flinched as a wolf’s paw rested on her shoulder and she took a deep slow breath and calmed down. As long as we’re together we can get through this, she nodded to Light.

The wolf nodded back and looked to Keith for guidance. As usual, his partner was maintaining his calm poise. He signaled to Light from behind the boxes.

“I suppose now is where we kill you,” the man said with the blinding lights behind him.

Keith took a couple of smoke grenades from his pack and looked to Light. The wolf took out a couple of smoke grenades at the same time as if they were thinking the same thing.

“They’ll be expecting this,” Keith mouthed silently to Light. He nodded in reply and signaled to Cameron what the plan was.

Then suddenly Light and Keith threw a couple of smoke bombs over the boxes and the area exploded into a thick obscuring smoke cloud as the canisters hissed while expelling their contents. Light grabbed Cameron’s paw and ran from the boxes to get into a flanking position. As Keith had predicted, the smoke was soon cleared from the area by a large industrial fan. The smoke was blown in the same direction Light and Cameron were running, keeping them hidden.

“Nice try,” the mystery man replied with a smug tone to his voice. The smoke had nearly completely cleared now and Keith was behind the boxes, making loud breathing to draw their attention. The blinding lights were no longer in Light’s eyes as they moved along the wall in the smoke. It seemed like no one had noticed Light and Cameron disappear on a far corner of the room. Through a thinner part of the smoke however, Light’s eyes were looking into Temno’s as the black furred wolf peered back at him. They didn’t stop, however, as they moved silently with minimum equipment. Light stopped behind some crates right next to a couple of well-trained animals but they kept hidden behind the boxes. Light peaked between the boxes and looked at Temno still standing and looking at the box Keith was behind. What the-? the wolf was thinking to himself. …why isn’t he doing anything? He saw us come over here…I’m sure of it.

“…but this is where you die, my friends,” he said as he moved a hand toward the boxes. A group of animals cautiously flanked the box Keith was behind and he waited for the signal from Light. The wolf looked up and saw the cord for the fan and pointed it out to Cameron. She climbed like a feline up on the catwalk with a boost from Light and quickly crossed to the other side of the room and unplugged everything she could find attached to the wall. The lights went out and Keith rolled away from his position just as a mountain lion looked over the edge of the boxes.

“Hmm…you’re better than I’d heard, Keith,” the man replied as he took out some infrared goggles along with a few of the other elite guard animals.

Cameron could only hear and smell the animals closing in on her position as their footpaws tapped against the steel walkways. She aimed her sidearm in the direction and fired. A yelp of pain followed by growling came from the darkness in front of her. The fur stood up on end and she walked parallel to the wall away from the walkway in front of her, using a paw to help guide her along it. She could hear bullets deflecting off the wall as they struck where she had been standing just an instant before. She was breathing heavily, adrenaline pumping through her body. She mewed in surprise as the walkway ended and she found herself falling through the air. She was able to judge the distance and land on her footpaws as she kept running. By now the muzzle flashes were enough for her to see the dimly lit room in short instances. She ducked behind some boxes and waited. She didn’t hear anyone approaching but she knew there would be felines that could also move without sound just like her.

Light had already taken out three of the animals nearest him in the short moment of the surprise attack in the darkness. He knew they’d recover soon and they were vastly outnumbered. He had to take advantage of every opportunity that presented itself. He heard several shots fired from the catwalk above and cursed under his breath as he saw Cameron fall, narrowly avoiding bullets fired at her by advancing felines. He heard an exceptionally loud gunshot from within the room and heard the sound of a large round impacting flesh. Easy, Keith, Light thought to himself as he knew Keith would do anything he could to survive this and protect the wolf.

Light worked his way back over to the backpack and found it was missing. “Keith, do you have the stuff?[/i] Light asked into his earpiece as he ducked behind the boxes after noticing muzzle flashes advancing on him.

“Negative,” Keith replied silently as he squeezed off another round from an obscure corner of the room. He was using a thermal scope on the side of his rifle to see the opposition. “It’s not there?”

Light dodged a rifle butt and countered with an uppercut, knocking his opponent off his footpaws. Where did the C4 go?

He sprinted away to another group of boxes as he heard another group approaching from the side. He jumped over them and landed beside Cameron as he drew his knife but stopped when he recognized her scent. They were both panting and on edge. Another loud gunshot echoed in the room and another animal landed on the ground beside them. Emergency lights came on and all the guns in the room were focused at the boxes Light and Cameron were behind. No longer were there flood lights focused at the boxes the group was originally but the overhead lights lit the entire room. The silhouetted man took cover as soon as they did. He knew they didn’t have the sniper’s location just yet and didn’t want to give him a clear shot.

Light didn’t know where his brother was. He wasn’t beside the silhouetted man. Neither side had the advantage of surprise any longer…it was still just Light, Keith and Cameron against a large group now. “I’ll draw their fire,” Cameron said as she checked the remaining ammo in her .45’s magazine.

“Wait!” Light said suddenly and grabbed her paw, pulling her behind the crate and kissed her on the lips. The wolf didn’t know why he did it but he shook his head after pulling away briefly. He looked exhausted. “Good luck,” he responded simply before getting his knife ready.

---------

Temno had slinked about and positioned himself outside of Keith’s field of view, stalking him among the crates until he pounced and pulled back on the man’s hair, putting a knife to his neck. “Don’t even think about it, Human,” he said with licking his chops before forcing the ex-marine’s hands behind his back and binding them with a plastic zip tie.

“Attention, Light and Cameron!” the mystery man said loudly over the gunfire. The wolf and cheetah stopped in their tracks. Light was about to punch a bobcat and growled as he finished the job with a punch before dropping the feline. Cameron looked too.

“No…” Light said quietly with wide eyes as he saw Keith captured. He didn’t put up much of a fight as a group grabbed Cameron and him and forced their paws behind their backs and led them closer to the other man.

Chapter

The Mystery Man finally revealed himself to Keith now that he had him captured. He was thin faced man, six-foot tall with a thick beard and mustache. A thinning head of hair topped his high forehead. He wore a cross between a lab coat scientists would wear and tactical gear. Keith recognized him, his eyes opened wide in surprise. “Vladimir Dimitrov,” He whispered in disbelief. The Russian Scientist was the top of Russian’s Military Research and Development program…before he was court-martialed for heinous experiments and misusing military funding…and a target assigned to the ex-marine long ago, before he’d met Light…the only prey that had eluded the expert sniper.

“Bring them here!” the Russian warlord said with a grin as his guard animals that he’d brainwashed brought the three of them in front of him.

Light and Cameron growled as they were held in place with their arms twisted back with two animals holding them tightly. “Paws off, Bud!” Cameron warned with a gnashing of teeth before she got a backpaw against her muzzle from a Siberian Husky causing her to be quiet but not without a subtle growling.

Once Cameron and Light were brought down they were forced down onto their knees. Dimitrov stood over Keith. The ex-marine had his hands bound behind his back and was looking up into the barrel of the gun pointed to his face…the barrel that would determine his inevitable failure of a mission. He kept a calm face though, this was nothing new to him. The ex-marine’s indifference seemed annoy the former head of R&D for the Russian Military. Temno was at the leader of Fenice Nera’s side and nodded to Light with a grin.

Light and Cameron were on their knees several yards away behind held down with guns against their head as well. The white wolf’s expression changed as he noticed the grin the black wolf was looking at him with. It wasn’t like the other times Temno had been grinning at him. He didn’t know what to think of it…until he saw the black wolf act without warning.

Temno grabbed the detonator from Keith’s waist just after Dimitrov cocked the hammer back on his gold-plated .45.

The now stoic-faced man turned his weapon’s barrel without thinking at the black furred wolf. The evil man and Light’s brother looked at each other in the eyes and before the Russian man could pull the trigger, Temno clicked the button. The entire facility shook with the force of the series of explosions, causing the animals standing on their footpaws to lose their balance whereas Light and Cameron were fairly stable with being on their knees and the lower center of gravity that came with that position.

The Russian warlord realized what his ‘loyal’ wolf had done and leveled the gun again and fired at him. Keith standing up knocked the man over with a shoulder ramming into the chest and the bullet went wide and struck Temno in the shoulder. It barely fazed the wolf however, as he took out two of the armed animals that were about to fire their weapons at Keith. Cameron unexpectedly elbowed the feline holding her right side and turned out of the grip of the other and delivered a vertical kick into the chin of the one on her left. A few of the guards leveled their weapons at Light as the white wolf was taking care of his own guards.

“LIGHT!” Cameron screamed as she saw one the wolf had missed and leapt in the way of the bullet as Light turned and got a face full of red mist along with registering a second later that Cameron had taken a bullet for him.

Instinctively, Light picked up a gun and fired a round back before the Arctic Fox could line up another shot with the wolf. Light felt the recoil and his paws shook as he realized he’d fired a gun at another animal, dropping it immediately with frustration. The wolf made sure no one else was standing before he went to Cameron.

The cheetah winced as she was sat up by Light against a crate. “Give me a gun,” she said through clenched teeth.

Light noticed a trail of blood leading down the front of her stomach. He had a feeling she wouldn’t be surviving this mission. His eyes tearing up as his comrade smacked the side of his muzzle.

“Not now, Light…we have a mission to complete,” she said weakly as she took the gun Light had picked up to give her.

Keith, with his hands tied behind his back was proving to be more formidable than the Russian man at hand-to-hand, even with his hands behind his back, the man was backed into a corner and repeatedly receiving knees to the groin. The ex-marine was incensed at the man…not because he had tried to kill him…but because of the twisted experiments and crimes against animal kind. He was going to make him pay as much as he could. He realized as a beam fell down from the ceiling that he wouldn’t get to finish the job as it fell between them, trapping the man against the wall. Keith jumped out of the way of the beam and spit at him before turning to find Light and Cameron.

Temno surprised Keith from behind with a knife strike against his bindings. Keith nodded in thanks before he noticed the blood trailing down Temno’s side and arm but didn’t say anything, knowing it would only hurt the wolf’s pride. He could tell from a glance, the black wolf was still ready to fight. He wasn’t sure what had changed Temno’s mind or how long he had been on their side but he had intuition in the matter that told him the wolf was serious.

Light was pulled by the chest fur toward the cheetah, forcing him into a kiss before the cheetah put an arm around the wolf as best as she could. “Help me walk,” she said to which the wolf obliged and helped her toward the door. The complex was still making loud noises within the structural members, it gave the wolf a sinking feeling that the place could come down at any moment. He growled as Temno with Keith approached them but a stern look from Keith told Light to back off. Light obeyed and went through the doorway first.

Cameron saw some animals down the hallway, trying to cut off their escape route but she growled in a catlike roar as she fired the SOCOM down the hallway at them, catching one of them in the shoulder with a bullet. “Bring it on!” she shouted down the hallway.

Light ducked behind a corner, supporting the cheetah who seemed to become heavier the longer her held her. Keith and Temno cleared the corridor with some assault rifles left by knocked out guards.

“Clear!” Keith shouted to which Temno replied by slinging a rifle over his shoulder and helping Light support Cameron.

Light grumbled but decided to keep quiet. If Keith would trust Temno, so would he.

Temno stayed silent, not wanting to bring up the past in this delicate situation. The group of four made their way out of the facility along the many corridors carefully or quickly, afraid of the mountain’s collapse upon the facility at any moment. Several times they’d come across a dead end to which Temno led them along a different route. His experience with the facility’s layout was proving invaluable. Cameron wasn’t looking too good but she was contributing as much as she could during the occasional hallway firefight. They were running out of ammo as they didn’t take as much time to loot the bodies of their obstacles. Light and Keith were hating this…all their time spent together and they’d never had to kill a single animal…and here they were being forced to do so to survive.

Cameron went limp in Temno’s arms. “Light…this cheetah’s not going to make it,” the black-furred wolf said over the creaking of the support columns.

“Dang,” Light said as he backtracked several yards to help support her. “I know that,” he said with a hint of venom in the tone of his voice…of course his brother couldn’t blame him…he had tried to kill him and Keith before.

Temno didn’t lower his ears to telegraph his hurt feelings but inside he was really sorry and wish he could make things up to his brother…that showed him compassion in that one moment. “Light…I’m sorry,” he said as he and Light struggled to catch up with Keith while Cameron’s footpaws were dragging against the ground. She still managed to hold the firearm in her paw as if her will was proving stronger than death.

Light’s face softened and he sighed. He believed him…he couldn’t have sounded more serious if he was lying. “You’re forgiven,” he said back after a long pause in the conversation.

“Thank you,” Temno replied, without a hint of emotion other than sincerity, as he nodded, the expression on his face unchanging although Light could have sworn he saw a tear in his brother’s eye.

The entryway the wolf, cheetah and man had come in through was finally in view. Light and Keith wished they could have taken those that were knocked out…but there wasn’t enough time and the facility was about to crumble under the weight of the mountain. Keith pressed a button on the door and it opened.

“Not so fast!” Dimitrov screamed in an infuriated voice and grinned as he pressed a button on a remote he held in his hand and the alarm sounded. Temno’s eyes went wide as he turned and struck Keith and Light in the chest hard with his paws. “GO!” he shouted.

“NOOOO!” Dimitrov shouted as he pulled out his .45 and fired several rounds at the group before the door suddenly slammed shut, not a second too soon as Keith, Light and Cameron were nearly smashed between the doors.

Light didn’t know what had happened until it was too late and turned to hear bullets striking the steel walls on the other side. “Temno…” he whispered as he stood and pounded his fists on the door. “TEMNO!” he shouted louder as Keith bent down to pick up Cameron’s lifeless body.

The ex-marine held her cradled in his arms as he heard a grenade go off from the other side. He recognized the sound of shrapnel striking steel as he swung the cheetah over his shoulders in a fireman carry and grabbed Light by the scruff of the neck. “Come on, Light!” he said in a commanding voice as he turned and started to jog away.

The wolf turned and nodded, still with tears in his eyes as he ran off, following Keith and Cameron.

Several hundred yards out and under the cover of the forest, Keith and Light looked over Cameron. She’d dropped her gun along the way. Keith pulled his index and middle fingers away from her neck and looked at Light with a slowly moving head, indicating she was gone. Light was near sobbing as he held her close. He’d never felt that close to a comrade before. “She was the bravest feline I’d known,” Light said to Keith after he had calmed down. Keith nodded in agreement.

A loud noise of a land mass falling under its weight interrupted the moment and the man and wolf team looked toward the mountain. A large cloud of debris and earth erupted from around the sides of the mountain near the base, creating a ring of smoke around it, expanding out until it finally settled 10 minutes later. It was a spectacular sight the likes of which Keith and Light, in all their travels and adventures, had yet to see.

Light looked up at Keith and Keith looked at Light and they knew what they were thinking. The closeness the two of them shared allowed for a deep connection…one almost always knew what the other was thinking.

A half hour later and Light had managed to dig a shallow grave through the ice topsoil for his comrade and Keith laid her in it. The two of them buried the cheetah with a cross made of branches and rope.

“Cameron was a good friend and will be dearly missed and never forgotten,” Light said up at Keith, hugging him for comfort.

“I’m sure she was from what I’ve seen,” Keith replied with a smile and comforting headpat. He looked toward the aftermath of their assault on the enemy’s base. “Either Temno stopped Dimitrov and lost his life in the process or they’re both alive,” Keith said as he stopped petting Light and put his backpack back on.

Light shook his head as he put on his as well. “No,” he replied with certainty while looking up at Keith, his paws gripping the straps going over his shoulder. “Temno would not have let him live,” he replied with a grin. “I know for sure my brother stopped him,” he replied with a tear in his eyes, knowing Temno must also have been killed in the collapse. “Let’s go home,” he replied as he started off back east toward the Pacific.

Light and Keith pulled up to the Lucky Charm Grove in Keith’s Honda Civic. The two looked at the LCGSD member. The LCGSD took the badge and looked at it then looked at them and nodded, opening the gate for them and then sipped some coffee before realizing who it was and did a spit take, covering their canine partner with coffee. He looked unamused.

They’d taken their time on the way back, finally getting to spend time together and catching up and telling each other what had been happening. Light wagged his tail the whole time.

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Keith and Light were getting an earful from Martin Foster…somehow it seemed like nothing had changed. “How could you do this to me, Keith?!” he shouted as he paced back and forth. It seemed like the only time he could let loose and not put up a front was in front of his former head of security. Keith just smiled warmly; it was about time he’d gotten back at his boss for the stuff he’d pulled before.

After Martin had vented he’d sat in the chair and smiled as he looked at Keith. “How was that?” he asked with a smile.

“Pretty good, I’d say,” Keith replied. Light wasn’t sure what was going on in those two humans’ heads but he was just happy to be back. “Are we dismissed?” Keith asked when he noticed Light’s tail was wagging. “He must be wanting to say hi to all of his friends.”

“Yes. Please.” Light replied with a happy bark.

Martin nodded and Keith stood to open the door for the wolf that ran off down the hallway as fast as he could. He closed the door and walked back to Martin’s desk. “I’m sure he’ll forget about the whole ordeal eventually,” the ex-marine said as he sat in the chair across from his friend.

“And did you get done what you needed to on this adventure?” Martin asked, showing his usual smile.

“Indeed I did,” Keith replied with a smile back, looking very relaxed for once. “Dang this is a comfortable chair,” he said with a chuckle. But then he stopped chuckling and looked at Martin. “Listen, Martin…” he said with a sigh as he shuffled in his seat and rubbed the back of his neck as if finding it difficult to say this next thing.

Martin raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “What is it, Keith? I rarely see you this serious,” he said as he leaned back in his chair.

“Would it be at all possible to reposition Light and myself back as LCGSD members?” he asked with a smirk.

Martin grinned. “Oh is that all?” he replied. “Of course,” he added. “How could I not accept my two finest back as head of security?”

“Thank you, Mr. F-…Martin,” Keith said with a smart-aleck look on his face.

“I see some things never change,” Martin added with an amused shaking of his head.

Keith stood and saluted to Martin before walking out of the room and back to his quarters. He would have to check the status of his house later…he feared it would need some much needed maintenance.

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Emily was working in the library like usual; stamping books while not looking up. If she was looking up, Light would have seen her smile. Mike, the raccoon, was manning the scanning machine the library used to keep track of books. He looked up when he saw the white wolf walking up and his heart stopped as his expression went to one of absolute terror. “L-l-l-…” he stuttered in a barely audible whisper.

“What was that, pudding pie?” Emily said in reply when she thought she’d heard Mike say something. She looked over to him and saw he was in shock and terrified at whatever he was looking at and she turned to see Light there in front of the desk. “Eep!” she yelped in surprise, blushing in shame and embarrassment and many other emotions at seeing the wolf.

“Hey there, Emily!” Light said with a smile and a wagging tail as he leaned over and looked at Mike, thankful he’d kept her safe and watched over her while he was gone. He turned his attention back toward Emily but she moved a paw through her headfur nervously over her ear and couldn’t maintain eye contact with him.

“H-Hey, Light,” Emily replied hesitantly and quietly.

Light was wondering why she was acting strangely. She used to be so lovey-dubby with him when they were together before he’d left. He looked to Mike for answers but he couldn’t look at Light either…and he noticed the raccoon was trembling and he could pick up a guilty vibe from him.

“Light…Emily is with me now,” the raccoon replied while looking at the wolf.

Light looked at Mike with wide open eyes at the sudden information. He started to laugh and chuckle while shaking his head in amusement. “Mike, I didn’t know you had a sense of humor,” he said with a smile as he leaned in toward Emily for a kiss.

Mike moved in front of Light and growled with an annoyed expression on his face.

Light was starting to think the joke had gone too far. “C’mon, Mike…quit it…” he said as he looked at Emily.

The adorable canine sighed and looked up at the wolf with regretful eyes…but only for a moment. “It’s true, Light,” she replied without a hint of uncertainty.

Light was looking at her and then to Mike and back to her. “C’mon guys…this isn’t funny,” he said with a slight growl. It was clear the wolf was no longer amused.

Emily looked up at him with an unwavering gaze. “I have grown to love him more than I loved you, Light.”

Light looked at her eyes and could see she was telling the truth. He looked at Mike and growled as if the raccoon was a traitor. He’d trusted the raccoon to watch her while he was gone...and now… The wolf lowered his ears and his tail stopped wagging. He’d lost his first love…to a raccoon. He could tell though…his animal instincts detected a certain chemistry between the two. He could tell their love was strong. He looked at Emily and then at Mike. “You do love each other,” he said in realization. They nodded in unison and then waiting for Light to reply, hoping he’d keep the library in one piece.

Light nodded back but looked at Mike with a warning. “You better take care of her…for your sake,” he said with a grin. The raccoon looked back and gulped but could tell Light saw him as worthy, boosting his confidence greatly. “Yes Sir,” he replied with a smile and huggled Emily against him.

The wolf nodded and walked out, not with his ears down or his tail wagging. He would know better than that.

Keith was leaning against the outer wall of the library as Light walked out. The wolf let out a sad sigh.

“Looks like a lot changed while I was gone,” he said with a grin.

Light nodded and looked up at Keith with annoyance. “Quiet you…and don’t think I forgive you for pulling that crap with pretending to be dead and everything,” the wolf said with a growl as he looked away from Keith and crossed his arms over his chest.

Keith put a paw on Light’s head and looked across into the yard where various residents were frolicking. “So what was it like falling in love, Light?” he asked with a slightly sarcastic tone.

Light just answered it like it was a regular question. “Hurt…” he said, wagging his tail at the petting he was getting from Keith.

“Martin agreed to allow us to come back to work at the shelter,” Keith informed the wolf. “Provided we have the choice to take on other side jobs if we so choose.”

The wolf wagged his tail and hugged Keith, lifting him off the ground and making happy wolf noises. “Yay! Let’s hope we have many more years of adventures!” The wolf said with a smile as he set his ‘dad’ down.

Well welcome back! That was two very amazing chapters there. It sucks that Emily doesn't love Light anymore though and Cameron Died so now Light lost both of the animals he loved. Also it's sad to hear your news. Hopefully we will see more side missions in the future from this action duo.

_________________Yes, I am a furry.

Mon Sep 17, 2012 4:01 pm

copper

Puppy Wrangler

Joined: Tue Sep 28, 2010 8:18 pmPosts: 6327Location: Florida

Re: Houspets: PoP - vol. 1 thru 3 (PG-13)

I am glad everything wrapped up nicely. A fic well done indeed. One of the few finished ones as well as one of the best!

Cannot wait to see what you do next, if anything!

_________________My charactersEverybody has a story to tell. What's yours?

What happened to Temno?Light’s assumptionInside the complex where Light, Keith and Cameron last saw Temno

“NOOOO!” Vladimir shouted as the door closed in front of Temno with a loud clank and a muffled mechanical lock.

The wolf grinned when he saw the others had escaped. The exhausted and black-furred wolf turned to face Vladimir Dimitrov, his white teeth showing in high contrast to his ebony fur. It was almost as if the wolf was mocking the Russian man with his smirk.

“D--- you, Temno…!” Vladimir shouted in anger as he took out his .45 and emptied the magazine at the wolf.

The wolf and man didn’t even hear the knocking of a wolf’s fists on the other side of the door above the sound of the mountain-based complex collapsing around them.

Temno just stood there. The bullets whizzed past him and struck the blastdoor behind him. He slowly advanced toward the one he had called Master.

The Russian scientist opened his eyes wide. He'd forgotten about the device he had been testing that used powerful electromagnetic forces to deflect bullets. There was no way he could have missed at that range. He threw the gun and Temno caught it with superior reflexes.

The wolf immediately started to dismantle the .45 in his paws, dropping a piece of the firearm with each slow, intimidating step he took toward Dimitrov.

“Alright then,” the man said and pulled a pin on a grenade and threw it at Temno while he backed up slowly to keep his distance from his most dangerous weapon…a weapon that was ironically turning on him. Why?!

The wolf deflected it over his shoulder just as a large piece of the ceiling caved in from up above the man and wolf, forcing Temno to leap forward to get out of the way.

The grenade detonated on the other side of the large debris now blocking the only way out that mattered. It would have taken too long to get through the corridors to the main entrance. It would have been locked down anyway since Dimitrov had sealed the doors. The man was panting and gritting his teeth in frustration, clearly wounded from the debris that fell on him back in the room where he and his army had tried ambushing Keith, Light and Cameron.

Temno saw that he didn’t have any more grenades and he’d disabled his only weapon. The black wolf had always viewed the Russian man as a coward, hiding behind his army of animals. He couldn’t explain it…he was feeling…free…like he didn’t have to follow this man’s orders. Maybe it was because he was tired; maybe it was because his brother showed him compassion. He wasn’t sure…he just knew what his former master had done and although he had lacked empathy for so long, he felt tired of it…like all he knew was following orders…and if someone like his brother was fighting against someone like Dimitrov of his own will…perhaps the black wolf felt he had been on the wrong side while under Fenice Nera.

Using his one good arm, the wolf picked Dimitrov by the collar of his tactical vest and lifted him up against the wall with a growl. The wolf smelled fear on the man…saw it on his face and it made the wolf smile in happiness…a sort of sick and twisted happiness. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw Dimitrov grinning slyly. “Uh oh…” Temno said quietly as he realized what was coming. He forgot he had also been brainwashed for the organization.

Temno’s eyes glazed over as he relaxed and his grip on the collar of the Russian man loosened. He knew what was coming and he’d tried to fight it but it was no use. He started panting but then relaxed further.

The Russian Warlord and evil mad scientist chuckled as he slid down the wall after the wolf loosened the grip. ”Command Priority One…Self Terminate…End Command”

The black-furred wolf took out a knife but something inside him was telling him to fight it…that’s when the jolt of electricity ran through the wolf, causing him to convulse and yell out in pain. Smoke started to appear from a small device located near his spine on the upper back against his tactical vest. A goodbye present placed there by Light while they were carrying Cameron out of the complex. Apparently, even though Temno had seemed to switch sides, Light hadn’t trusted him at the time.

Frank and Frankie would have created more of the devices that activated when certain commands were spoken…the commands that only Keith, Light, Frank and Frankie knew from the files Keith had provided them. But because they were short on time they were only able to make one.

Dimitrov looked in surprise as Temno fell to the ground and started to have smoke come out from under him. “No…” he said as he realized that Temno would no longer be able to be commanded. Either by coincidence or some miraculous hacking skill that gained access to the deeper files in his research database, the greatest weakness of his brainwashing experiment had been exploited. Months and years of carefully performed brainwashing would be wiped out when the experiments were subjected to high electrical currents while under trance. He backed away from the body of the wolf as it lay on the ground.

Temno opened his eyes and growned as he got up, his one good paw holding the back of his head. He had a splitting headache and noticed his adversary trying to slink away unnoticed. “Going somewhere, Master?” he asked with a hint of malice on the last word.

Dimitrov gulped and turned to see the wolf grinning, those bright white teeth against a blackness that he knew in his soul, he would soon be experiencing permanently. The last thing he saw was a gnashing of teeth.

The wolf wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist and spit on the man who was now not moving. The mountain was really coming down now. Temno ditched his tactical vest and ran through the corridors. He came across a vent and kicked it out. He was taking a gamble but he knew this was the only way out that would be quick enough to increase his odds in the race against the falling mountain. He eventually came to a fork and used his wolf nose to sniff out fresh, outside air and started moving more quickly. His body banged against the vents as he crawled through on one good arm, his other in a sling against his chest. “C’mon…” he said as he panted in anxiety.

Finally he saw the large industrial fan that would be necessary for in taking outside air to feed to the facility. It was jammed with a piece of the vents structure. He squeezed through one of the holes just as the metal beam snapped under the tension of the fan’s motor, causing it to work once again. A second later and he wouldn’t have been able to get through that way. He breathed a sigh of relieve and kicked off the grating after several attempts. He stepped out into a camouflaged cover for the vent’s structure and quickly walked down the side of the mountain.

He was panting as he got several hundred meters away. He finally felt the collapse and turned. The noise was defining. The shockwave knocked him forward onto the ground. He looked behind him and a large cloud of mountain was rushing toward him. The wolf crawled over to take refuge behind a boulder as it rushed toward him. He covered his head and buried his face between his knees.

------

Temno awoke an hour later. He had been more tired than he thought. He cracked his neck while stretching and looked over his body to see what needed immediate medical attention. He had been lucky and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Glad that’s over,” he said quietly to himself. The wolf slowly stood and grunted and winced in pain. “Wonder what I should do now?” he said to himself and scratched his side as he slowly walked east, not knowing when or how he’d be rescued. “One thing at a time,” he reminded himself. Wonder if Light’s my only family... he thought to himself as he walked off.

---------

Lucky Charm Grove

Keith scratched his head as he looked at Light after having read the story the wolf had written. “It’s possible…but I dunno,” the ex-marine said with a smirk. “Seems like the type of thing you’d have in fiction, doesn’t it?...too many coincidences.”

Light’s tail stopped wagging and he folded his arms over his chest. “You’re no fun, Keith…no imagination,” he retorted by sticking out his tongue in annoyance.

The alarm suddenly sounded and Light and Keith immediately sprung into action. The perimeter of threat aversion had been expanded since the last time the shelter had been invaded.

Keith and Light had gotten to the scene of the disturbance just in time as one of the security personnel was standing over a black-furred wolf and about to pull the trigger on their side arm, about to end the wolf’s life.

“NO!” Light shouted and moved the pistol to the side as it was fired, bumping into the person and causing them to miss by a couple of inches, discharging the firearm into the ground.

“STAND DOWN!” Keith commanded as the six assault rifles that were aiming at the wolf remained aimed at him. The black furred wolf had its paws behind its back and wasn’t struggling as if accepting his fate. He opened one eye at the sound of Light and Keith and started wagging his tail. “Oh thank the gods…” he whispered.

“I said stand down!” Keith repeated.

Light quickly walked over and placed himself over the black wolf, knowing they wouldn’t shoot him at least. “You heard Keith,” the white wolf said with a slight growl.

The assault rifles lowered when Light got in the way. “Are you sure, Keith…this is the wolf that at-“

“I know!” Keith said as he breathed a sigh of relief at the weapons being lowered. “This is the wolf that attacked us that day…but who authorized the killing of an animal in Martin’s sanctuary?” Keith asked with an angry look on his face. They looked at each other and quietly left, going to their posts. “Light and I will take it from here,” Keith said to Cherie and Spring, the two remaining security personnel.

“Alright,” she replied and went back to her post with her partner, Spring.

Light cut the bindings on the wolf and Keith looked around making sure the wolf was alone.

The black wolf hugged Light as soon as his bindings were free. “Thank you, Light!” he said and licked his face in appreciation.

Keith pulled on Temno’s neck scruff, causing the wolf to growl instinctively. “Off of Light!” he commanded as he let go of the neck scruff, landing the wolf on its back. He raised a weapon at him. “Start talking.”

Light was about to interject but Keith held a paw up at the white wolf as he kept the gun steadily aimed at the black one.

Temno gulped and lowered his ears as he stopped wagging his tail. “I know…you might not have reason to trust me…after everything I’ve done-“

“You’re d--- well right; we have no reason to trust you!” Keith shouted at him. “How dare you show your face around here after that last stunt you pulled on this shelter…if Mr. Foster was the first one to see you, you’d be dead already,” the ex-marine added with a resentful expression.

Temno nodded and remained still, not wanting to cause any trouble. He was just looking for forgiveness and a second chance…at least that’s what he was leading Keith and Light to believe.

Keith looked around and nodded to Light.

The white-furred wolf grumbled and put a zip tie around Temno’s paws again, the things he’d just cut off. “Bring him to a secure room,” the ex-marine commanded as he turned on his radio. “Mr. Fos-Martin, you’re going to want to hear this one’s side of the story.”

”Whose side of the story?” Martin asked over the radio.

“The black wolf that assaulted the Grove…” Keith added coldly before following Light while he escorted Temno with his rifle at the ready.

----------

Martin sat across from the black-furred wolf. Keith and Light were there with him.

"...and then I killed Vladimir Dimitrov and escaped like I explained already," Temno said with a sigh. He felt like America's Most wanted criminal the way the two men were looking at him. He was showing the signs of sorry and grief. He had reason to feel that way.

Keith and Light looked at each other. Keith couldn't believe Light had depicted the events according to how Temno had described them fairly accurately.

Several times it took both Keith and Light holding Martin down to prevent the man from wringing the wolf's neck while he was trying to explain the story.

Martin was clearly not happy…but his brilliant intuition couldn’t mistake the sincerity and truth with which the black wolf spoke. He was tempted to give him a second chance and a place at the shelter…but there would have to be some conditions.

“Sometimes I think I’m too forgiving,” Martin said with a shaking of his head.

“You are…to animals,” Keith said with a grin as Temno started wagging his tail.

“Really!?” he exclaimed and stifled a howl with the help of Light’s paw on his muzzle. Best not to startle anyone he thought.

“Having said that,” Martin concluded as he opened a door to present a reserved security member in the case of a particularly rowdy security member.

The man behind the door was enormous. 6’5” and like a young Rambo in build; he had a stern expression on his face. It was surprising his form could be seen through the suit he wore.

The ex-marine and two wolves gulped in nervousness. Even they were intimidated by the appearance.

“This is Chuck Warner,” Martin said as he introduced the sharp dressed man. “Assistant to our new LCGSD member.”

Light and Temno looked at each other. “If they’re the assistant, I shudder to think what the security member you’re pairing with Temno will be?” Light said, assuming Martin planned to put Temno on security. He would be a valuable asset used in that capacity.

Temno didn’t understand. He would have thought Martin would have just put him in a room and punished for his crime and hope to find solace in knowing he could spend time with Light sometimes. He certainly wasn’t expecting the owner of the shelter he’d led an assault on to allow him to work for security of the place. “Um…”

Chuck Warner stood aside and there in the doorway now was a young woman of about 26. She was about 5’6” and an average body and slightly Hispanic in ethnicity. Shoulder length brown hair tied back in a ponytail and bangs covered her deep brown eyes. They had an intensity of concentration. Her face was adorably cute and no one would have thought her the military type. She didn’t appear to be anything special from first glance. But as Light and Keith knew, looks good be deceiving.

“This will be your new security partner,” Martin explained. “Natalie Domina. Her father owns a vineyard.”

Temno couldn’t help but chuckle. He knew he was no match for her. “This?!” he said with a grin with his paws outstretched toward her from his seat.

Light and Keith didn’t blink while Chuck Warner covered his eyes in what they could assume was fear. Martin was the only one not surprised by what happens next.

Natalie grabbed Temno’s head in her hand, and with a strength the wolf wasn’t expecting, slammed his muzzle into the desk, eliciting a yelp of pain and an immediate whimper from him as he rubbed his nose. “Bad dog!” she said with a growl.

“Ow…What a-?” he said before he was interrupted with another slam into the table. This time he tried lifting his head but she was holding him down. He found his arm twisted painfully behind his back too. Is she crazy?! he yelled to himself before knowing better and stopping his struggling, sitting still.

“Good boy,” she said as she loosened her grip and pet his head.

The black wolf grinned and used the moment of her naïve dropped guard to try to get out of the chair but he lost his balance as the chair turned and fell back unexpectedly, ending up with the young woman’s heeled shoe against his chest and pressing on it with more than just a little bit of pressure. He had the wind knocked out of him and he saw her looked down at him with a malicious grin. She was fast…faster than he was and seemed to be even more sadistic than he was when he was under Fenice Sera.

Light and Keith nodded in approval at the match. Keith leaned down to his partner. “$50 says she tames him before he does.”

Light grinned and whispered back. “You’re on.”

Temno growled and got a rolled up newspaper across the nose. He kept quiet and waited for her to greet Light, Keith and Martin with a hug. “I won’t let you down, Sir,” she said saluting to Keith and then to Martin. She was giving them a warm smile but glared at Temno.

“This is ridiculous,” Temno said in an annoyed whine after she’d left.

“Those are the conditions,” Martin explained with a chuckle and his infectious grin that was impossible to say no to.

What have I gotten myself into? Temno groaned with paws covering his face.

It would take a while for Temno and Natalie to get along but Martin knew there would be no one better to introduce the wolf into a society that was so different than what he was used to…and he knew she would be able to keep an eye on him better than anyone based on her abilities. When she was treated friendly she'd act friendly, hostility would cause her to be hostile. It would be a great way for the wolf to gradually learn how to act with others.

So Temno found a place…that he would eventually call home…and enjoy it…hopefully. ^^;

Temno shouldn't have been surprised that he got the job. The best people at security are people who have gotten past the best security. He'll be able to find any holes in the security so they can fill them up. Just like the government hiring hackers that get into their databases.

I'm with Keith on that bet.

_________________I'm a shape-shifter. I'm currently in whatever form I feel likeParadigm Shift by meI do not actually believe any of what I'm saying.RP character sheets

I approve and will be very happy to use these characters in the best of ways, Mr. Lightwolf

I know you'll make good use of them in your story for many episodes to come. :3

RandomGeekNamedBrent wrote:

Temno shouldn't have been surprised that he got the job. The best people at security are people who have gotten past the best security. He'll be able to find any holes in the security so they can fill them up. Just like the government hiring hackers that get into their databases.

I'm with Keith on that bet.

*chuckles* True. Martin is a very forgiving person when it comes to the puppy-dog eyes...not sure if Temno has ever used that WMC. X3

legendario13 wrote:

I hope light can find a partner, he deserves it

Is also sad this adventure its kinda over

Great job, and good luck with your proyects!

It'll be up to Valerio for that stuff. I trust he'll do well with my characters. The adventure may be over but there will be many more to come in Valerio's ficcie.

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